The museum field has changed dramatically in the past thirty years, shifting from museum staff collecting anything and everything to staff collecting with a narrow focus defined within a museum’s collection plan. Today’s museum professionals are faced with a backlog of collection problems such as works that do not fit within the museum’s mission statement, unaccessioned works and a lack of storage due to the overzealous collecting of previous generations. Many museums are now attempting to deal with the problems left by past staff members by going through the collection, piece by piece, and making decisions which shape the collection to better reflect the image of the museum today. I addressed this problem with one collection, the Martin S. Ackerman Foundation Collection, at VCUarts Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. This project consisted of locating and inventorying the collection as well as documenting the works to prepare for possible accession into the Anderson Gallery permanent collection. This paper addresses the challenges and outcomes of my collection survey, while providing a model for others to follow in dealing with decades of collections buildup.

This project utilized a form of arts based educational research described as analog hypertext to develop interpretative material representing multiple critical, theoretical, and disciplinary perspectives on objects in a university art museum’s object study gallery. Drawing on scholars’ recommendations for postcolonial interpretation of non-Western art, the project created a web of information, which simultaneously revealed and critiqued the underlying ideologies and power structures shaping the museum’s display in an effort to change existing interpretive practice. The project developed five color-coded thematic self-guided tours—art as commodity, spiritual practice, technology and cultural evolutionism, mortuary rituals, and postcolonial perspectives—presented to the public as an interpretive exhibition invited visitors’ contributions. This paper explores how the analog hypertext functions as both a research tool and a content delivery device for the representation of multiple critical perspectives, fostering interdisciplinary perspectives and visitor meaning-making in the process.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Bonnie Lynn-Sherow / American Indian material culture collections are protected in tribal archives and transnational museums. This dissertation argues that the Plains Indian people and Euroamerican people cross pollinated each other’s material culture. Over the last two hundred years’ interpretations of transnational material culture acculturation of the 19th - Century North American Plains Indians has been interpreted in venues that include arts and crafts, photography, museums, world exhibitions, tourism destinations, entertainments and literature. In this work, exhibit catalogs have been utilized as archives. Many historians recognize that American Indians are vital participants and contributors to United States history. This work includes discussions about North American Indigenous people and others who were creators of material culture and art, the people who collected this material culture and their motives, and the various types of collections that blossomed from material culture and oral history proffering. Creators included Plains Indian women who tanned bison hides and their involvement in crafting the most beautiful art works through their skill in quillwork and beadwork. Plains Indian men were also creators. They recorded the family’s and tribe’s histories in pictograph paintings. Plains Indian storytellers created material that was saved and collected through oral tradition. Euroamerican artists created biographical images of the Plains Indian people that they interacted with. Collections of objects, legends, and art resulted from those who collected the creations made by the creators. Thus today there exists fine examples of ethno-heirlooms that pay tribute to the transnational acculturation and survival of the American Indian people of the Great Western Northern American Plains. What is most important is the knowledge, and an appreciation for the idea that a transnational cross-pollination of cultures enriched and became rooted in United States history.

<p>Visitors’ expectations of museums in the modern world consist of both utilitarian and hedonic aspects. Given visitors’ diverse expectations and demands, traditional museums have taken actions to attract more visitors. Taking advantage of new technologies is the current action and trend in the museum industry. The emergence of digital museums is the reflection of this tendency, which use digital technologies such as projectors, surrounded sound, ambient lights, and multisensory cues to present a virtual environment. In the virtual environment, emotional state and sense of presence are considered to be useful to provide a more engaging experience. Therefore, this research empirically investigated digital museum visitor experience perceptions and the influence of emotional state and sense of presence on experience perceptions. The different impact of multisensory cues on experience and the relative mediation effect were also examined.</p> <p>Data were collected with a scenario-based online survey conducted through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). A split-sample approach with a total of 382 respondents was used for analysis. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to explore visitor experience perceptions of the digital museum. Structural equation modeling was used to discover the impact of emotional state and sense of presence. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the difference in impact of multisensory cues on overall visitor experience. This research also employed the PROCESS macro in SPSS for demonstrating the mediating effect of emotional state and sense of presence through the impact of multisensory cues on overall visitor experience. The findings of this study revealed three experience perceptions—respectively, joviality, personal escapism, and localness experiences—of digital museums. Also, this research presented the positive effect of emotional state on joviality experience and negative effect of emotional state on localness experience. In addition, a notable positive impact of sense of presence on joviality, personal escapism, and localness experience perceptions was found. No significant effect of emotional state on personal escapism was found in this research. Moreover, visual and auditory cues together were confirmed as the most powerful indicator for triggering the greatest experience level. The impact was found to be valid due to the mediating role of emotional state and sense of presence.</p> <p>This research contributed theoretically and practically to museum literature and experience research. Theoretical implications were discussed to indicate this research as the framework to measure digital museum visitor experience based on the proposed three-factor structure. Practical implications were provided for museum managers. Limitations and future research were discussed.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / Historic houses function as the stages for, and central figures in, processes of place-making and heritage construction. I offer the case site of the Fairbanks House (completed in 1641) in Dedham, Massachusetts as the subject of my investigation into these issues. Touted as the "oldest timber frame house in North America," the Fairbanks House is widely regarded as a significant example of early colonial architecture in the United States; it has operated as a house museum since it was purchased by the Fairbanks Family in America, Inc. stewardship group in 1904. This study expands beyond antiquity to include all eight generations of Fairbanks families who lived on the property. I argue that longevity, and a durational perspective that links the past with the present, is equally vital to peoples' understanding and appreciation. I trace the biography of the Fairbanks House from its creation in the early 17th century to its current use as a heritage site. This perspective emphasizes the continued saliency of accumulated individual decisions and actions, reified by both material culture and immaterial processes such as tradition and memory. I use archaeological, architectural, documentary, and oral sources to reconstruct the landscape of the Fairbanks farm and I demonstrate how residents made day-to-day choices, such as land purchases or neighborly socializing, to improve their socio-economic standing and establish a future for their children. In doing so for eight generations, they established a legacy that was celebrated beginning in the 19th century, when Fairbanks women living in the house promoted their family's history through storytelling and published media. These processes of heritage construction remain continuous and personal, as shown by the results of an ethnographic study that I designed, which reveals that Fairbanks House museum visitors define historicity not through specific facts about the Fairbanks family but through their own narratives based on their engagement with the site's material culture. In addition to providing an important example of how generations of modestly-successful New England farmers adapted their surroundings to fit their values and goals, this study positions local house museums as dynamic spaces for creative, personal engagements with the past.

On June 7, 2000, the Holocaust’s position as an official part of British history and memory became solidified with the opening of a permanent Holocaust exhibition within London’s Imperial War Museum. This important national museum embodies Britain's cultural memory of war, of which the Holocaust has become a central part. Situated within debates of museology and memory, this thesis offers a compelling case study on the performative role of the museum in the construction of an official Holocaust memory within Britain and its relationship to national identity. While the Holocaust has become a ‘moral touchstone’ of contemporary society it seems urgent we raise questions of not only why we remember the Holocaust, but what, exactly, it is we are remembering. The oft cited dictum to 'never forget' requires remembrance of the Holocaust to serve a purpose; so that events of Nazi Europe may never be repeated. This ambition has proven hollow, yet countries invest millions of pounds in official Holocaust remembrance, commemoration and education. What purpose does the Holocaust serve in twenty-first century Britain? Questions of Holocaust narrative, material culture and testimony dominate the study, underpinned through wider concepts of history, memory, identity and museology in a British context. Using the Imperial War Museum as a case study, this thesis presents a challenge to the place of the Holocaust within British memory of war and questions how this limiting framework affects the way the Holocaust is remembered and understood throughout British society more broadly. Each chapter focuses on a specific aspect of the Holocaust exhibition and its display. A history of the exhibition provides detail on how and why the Holocaust became a central theme for the Imperial War Museum, while a study of the photographic, object and testimony displays in each dedicated chapter draws conclusions on how the Holocaust is shaped within this specific context. The relationship between the exhibition displays and Holocaust education more broadly throughout Britain is explored in detail in the final chapter of the thesis. Beyond the Imperial War Museum, this study points towards the future of Holocaust memory in Britain with an aim to highlight a limited understanding of the wider context of Britain and the Holocaust within popular narratives. How Britain connects to Holocaust history and memory remains central to this research, but it also considers how Britain could connect in more meaningful ways beyond learning the 'lessons' of the Holocaust.

Research Imperative: This project describes an observation-based protocol to rapidly assess skeletonised human remains. Up to 60% of British museums are unaware of the quality and quantity of their holdings; almost all lack databases. Thousands of remains are disturbed annually during commercial and private development, but funding, time and skills rarely align to provide basic assessments, a true impediment to research. Several well-known collections are examined repeatedly, with others under-studied or inspected randomly; data accumulates haphazardly as scholars research specific questions. A rapid assessment system is needed. Aims: This ‘Rapid Assessment System’ (RAS) aims to capture information using affordable and available resources: curators, students and volunteers. RAS answer sheets offer multiple options using non-specialist language. In this way, basic data about a skeleton can be collected. Methods: Volunteers without osteological training were provided with RAS answer sheets and specimen skeletons to examine. Observations were ‘correct’ when in agreement with the author. The RAS was divided into an Inventory segment, assessing presence, absence and condition of skeletal elements, and assessing traits associated with age and sex; and a Paleopathology segment assessing normal and abnormal appearance of teeth and bones. In Winchester, 37 volunteers (undergraduates, semi-retired amateur archaeologists) trialed the RAS over three weekly two-hour sessions, with 22 volunteers assessing at least three skeletons: 91 RAS answer sheets were analysed. Results: Pooling results for all three weeks, volunteers were correct 70.4% of the time for Inventory, and 75.3% of the time in the third week. Paleopathology results were mixed: some participants attained 85.2% correct, others less than 10%. Overall condition of remains, a primary assessment recommended by English Heritage enjoyed 90% success (score of 81 from 91 forms). Assessing skull condition was correct 96.2% (87.5/91). Differentiating between ‘robust’, ‘gracile’ and ‘moderate’ long bones was 79.7% effective (72.5/91); recognising tooth wear (none, mild, moderate) accomplished 78.6% (71.5/91). Robusticity and dental wear inform on estimations of sex and age at death. Implications: Basic data can be accurately amassed by novices. Two separate forms are proposed: Inventory for general use; complex Paleopathology assessments for workers with some training or considerable patience. The Paleopathology segment can act as an aid for early-stage researchers and students and help them avoid missing out observations when examining large collections. The RAS can be tailored to assess specific diseases such as leprosy or tuberculosis. Future versions should utilise electronic formats to simplify processing. If adopted by commercial firms, universities and museums, data can be captured, permitting information to be shared, and reducing handling of these delicate, poignant and unique ‘artefacts’.

Esta pesquisa está voltada para o estudo arqueológico do Jaó, uma das áreas do Estado de São Paulo categorizada como comunidade remanescente de quilombo no ano de 2000. O sítio arqueológico histórico do Jaó está localizado na cidade de Itapeva, sudoeste do Estado. Trata-se de um bem que permaneceu indiviso entre os herdeiros, um sítio caboclo de raiz africana que se formou nos anos posteriores à abolição e que se constituiu como propriedade privada, no contexto da decadência do Tropeirismo. As comunidades negras rurais se constituíram a partir de uma grande diversidade de processos e estão presente em todo território nacional. Busca-se através da Arqueologia da Paisagem e do cotejamento com as fontes históricas, cartoriais e orais, outros caminhos interpretativos para a paisagem quilombola. Assim, na interface entre Arqueologia e Museologia, esta pesquisa pretende demonstrar como o Jaó e seu entorno podem ser vistos como um território privilegiado para uma ação baseada na identificação, valorização e preservação do patrimônio tanto material como imaterial, ainda não analisados plenamente. O trabalho de campo tem como objetivo principal apresentar aos habitantes do quilombo, a paisagem e os lugares da memória como referências patrimoniais. Estes, uma vez localizados, serão a base para ações de musealização / This research is turned to the archaelogical study of Jaó, one of the areas in the State of São Paulo, that in the year 2000, was categorized as remaining quilombo colony. The historical archaeological site of Jaó, is located in Itapeva, a town in the South East of the State. It is a property that stayed whole, without divisions between heirs, a small holding of peasants of african roots, formed in the years subsequent slavery abolition, and became private property with the decline of \"tropeirismo\". Black rural communities were created during various processes of diversity and area now present in the whole national territory. It is hoped that through Landscape Archaeology and comparing historic sources being them by mouth and drawings, will be possible interpret a quilombo landscape. So, in the interface between Archeology and Museology, this research intends to demonstrate how Jaó and it surrounding area, can be seen as a priviledged territory, to be identified, valorized and preserved through actions of material and non material identification of this heritage, not yet wholly analised. The land work has at its principal aim, to present this quilombo people, a landscape and memory sites as patrimonial references. These, once located, will be the basis of actions to create a museum

abstract: Los Angeles long served as a center of technological and scientific innovation and production, from nineteenth-century agriculture to twentieth-century aerospace. City boosters used spectacle-filled promotional strategies to build and maintain technological supremacy through industry. Evaluating the city’s premier industry-focused science museum, the California Science Center, is therefore a must. The California Science Center is one of the most-visited museums in the United States and is in the historic Exposition Park. Yet, no thorough analysis has been done on its influential history. This dissertation is an interdisciplinary study of the California Science Center, from its 1870s beginnings as an agricultural fairground, to the construction of the world’s fair-inspired State Exposition Building in the 1910s, to its post-World War II redesign as the California Museum of Science and Industry. It uses regional history, design history, and museum studies to evaluate the people behind the museum’s construction and development, how they shaped exhibits, and the ideologies of progress they presented to the public. This dissertation builds on established historical components in Los Angeles’ image-making, primarily boosterism, spectacular display, and racism. The museum operated as part of the booster apparatus. Influential residents constructed Exposition Park and served on the museum board. In its earliest days, exhibits presented Anglo Los Angeles as a civilizing force through scientific farming. During the Cold War, boosters shifted to promote Los Angeles as a mecca of modern living, and the museum presented technology as safe and necessary to democracy. Local industries and designers featured centrally in this narrative. Boosters also used spectacle to ensure impact. Dioramas, Hollywood special effects, and simulated interactive experiences enticed visitors to return again and again. Meanwhile, non-white residents either became romanticized, as in the case of the Mexican Californios, or ignored, as seen in the museum’s surrounding neighborhood, primarily-African American, South Central. Anglo elites removed non-whites from the city’s narrative of progress. Ultimately, this dissertation shows that the museum communicated city leaders’ ideologies of progress and dictated exhibit narratives. This study adds nuance to image-making in Los Angeles, as well as furthering regional analysis of science museums in the United States. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation History 2018

Esta pesquisa está voltada para o estudo arqueológico do Jaó, uma das áreas do Estado de São Paulo categorizada como comunidade remanescente de quilombo no ano de 2000. O sítio arqueológico histórico do Jaó está localizado na cidade de Itapeva, sudoeste do Estado. Trata-se de um bem que permaneceu indiviso entre os herdeiros, um sítio caboclo de raiz africana que se formou nos anos posteriores à abolição e que se constituiu como propriedade privada, no contexto da decadência do Tropeirismo. As comunidades negras rurais se constituíram a partir de uma grande diversidade de processos e estão presente em todo território nacional. Busca-se através da Arqueologia da Paisagem e do cotejamento com as fontes históricas, cartoriais e orais, outros caminhos interpretativos para a paisagem quilombola. Assim, na interface entre Arqueologia e Museologia, esta pesquisa pretende demonstrar como o Jaó e seu entorno podem ser vistos como um território privilegiado para uma ação baseada na identificação, valorização e preservação do patrimônio tanto material como imaterial, ainda não analisados plenamente. O trabalho de campo tem como objetivo principal apresentar aos habitantes do quilombo, a paisagem e os lugares da memória como referências patrimoniais. Estes, uma vez localizados, serão a base para ações de musealização / This research is turned to the archaelogical study of Jaó, one of the areas in the State of São Paulo, that in the year 2000, was categorized as remaining quilombo colony. The historical archaeological site of Jaó, is located in Itapeva, a town in the South East of the State. It is a property that stayed whole, without divisions between heirs, a small holding of peasants of african roots, formed in the years subsequent slavery abolition, and became private property with the decline of \"tropeirismo\". Black rural communities were created during various processes of diversity and area now present in the whole national territory. It is hoped that through Landscape Archaeology and comparing historic sources being them by mouth and drawings, will be possible interpret a quilombo landscape. So, in the interface between Archeology and Museology, this research intends to demonstrate how Jaó and it surrounding area, can be seen as a priviledged territory, to be identified, valorized and preserved through actions of material and non material identification of this heritage, not yet wholly analised. The land work has at its principal aim, to present this quilombo people, a landscape and memory sites as patrimonial references. These, once located, will be the basis of actions to create a museum